Wire connector with dovetailed casing



Feb. 5, 1957 i F. MORSCHEL 2,780,791

WIRE CONNECTOR WITH DOVETAILED CASING Filed Feb. 18, 1953 Fig.1, 6 W162. Fig 5, 11 m 19 my 3 llll WEE CONNECTOR WITH DOVETAILED CASING Franz Morschel, Eupen, Belgium Application February 18, 1953, Serial No. 337,605

Claims priority, application France March 4, 1952 4 Claims. (Cl. 339-198) My invention relates to improvements in wire connectors, such as are more particularly suitable for use as terminal or connecting members for electric wires and/or as coupling members subjected to tensile stress, the said wire connectors being intended for both industrial and domestic applications. More specifically, the invention relates to screwless wire connectors, the casing of which has arranged therein one or more pressure and clamping springs acting in the manner of locking pawls and backed against bearing surfaces of the casing, in such a way that the article or articles to be clamped may he slipped between the locking edges of the springs and the said bearing surfaces, the said articles being thereupon held automatically in position, the said casing having conveniently mounted therein releasing members accessible from the outside for acting upon the said clamping edges in View of releasing the said articles.

According to the invention, the casing of the wire connector has an open side parallel to the direction along which the wires or other articles are inserted, so as to form a hollow structure having its free edges formed with notches of dovetail shape for cooperation with a closure member provided with projections of corresponding shape, the proper elasticity of at least one of the two complementary members of each cooperating set of dovetailed notch and projection being suificient to provide for an interfitting grip by merely applying pressure.

According to a further feature of the invention, the solid rear wall of the casing, which is located opposite the open side of the latter, is formed on its outer face with dovetail-shaped projections whereby the casing may be interfitted with an adjacent casing so as to act as a closure member for the latter, thus making it possible to assemble expediently any desired number of casings, without the use of tools, to form a wire connector block, with only one end casing of the block requiring to be closed by a special closure member.

Further particulars and advantages of the invention will appear from the disclosure of a wire connector or electric terminal according to the invention, which will be given hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation, partly in section, of the casing of a wire connector according to the invention, when looking towards the open side of the casing.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the casing.

Fig. 3 is an end view of a closure member.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the closure member according to Fig. 3, which forms the integral rear wall of the casing according to Fig. 2.

Fig. is a perspective view of a wire connector block or board according to the invention.

Fig. 6 is a partial outside view of an alternative form of wire connector according to the invention.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view along line VII-VII of Fig. 6.

In the drawings, the reference 1 indicates a casing made e. g. from Bakelite or any other moulded material, said casing enclosing a central cavity 2 in which there is atted States Patent 0 i 2,780,79 l l atented Feb. s, 1957 ranged a spring 3 made in the shape of a strip having bent-over end portions, the outer or back face of the strip resting upon the bottom wall of the cavity 2, while it end portions bear against a contact bar 4 held against the opposite or top wall of the cavity. The stripped end 5 of an electric wire 6 is inserted through one of the re cesses 7 provided in the casing, so that the wire will be automatically clamped and locked between the corresponding end of the spring 3 and the bar 4. For cooperation with each end of the spring 3 there is provided a push member 8 in a corresponding recess 9 in the casing. Each push member is made with a forked end portion 10 which straddles the bar 4 and is able to act upon the corresponding end at the spring 3 to disengage the said end from the wire 5 and free the latter when the push member is being thrust into the casing. The escape of the push member is prevented by an arresting catch 11.

Two dovetail-shaped recesses 12 are formed in two opposed side walls of the casing l. for cooperation with corresponding tongues 13 provided on a special closure member 14 and on the rear wall of the casing 1. To close a casing, all that need be done is to press the closure member 14 or the rear wall of another casing 1 against the first said casing 1, the interfitting of the closure member and the casing being made possible by the proper elasticity of the material of the casing and/ or the closure member. It will be seen, moreover, that the obliquity of the walls of the notches 12 and the tongues 13 may be very small. The notches 12 are in open communication with the recesses 7, which makes the unit an easy manufactoring item.

In order to prevent the closure member of the casing from coming off by slipping, the closure member is provided with a projection 15 which fits into a hollow 16 provided in the casing. In addition, a narrow elongated projection 17 on the closure member is adapted to come into position against the contact bar 4 so as to hold the latter securely in place.

Moreover, owing to the particular construction of the casing according to the invention, such casing may have easily fitted thereto an identification member, e. g. a small plate 18 bearing a number or another mark and which may be slipped under a transparent sheet 19 fitted into a. shallow recess of dovetail shaped cross section formed in the upper face of the casing.

Fig. 5 shows a block formed of a number of casings 1 assembled with each other, the outermost casing being closed by a closure member 14. The outer end faces of the block thus formed may have secured thereto, as by interfitting, two angle members 20, one flange of each angle member being provided with openings engageable on the projections 13 and with one opening into which the projections 15 and 17 may extend. The other flange of the angle member provides a means whereby the block may be secured, through the medium of screws or bolts 21, to a support 22 provided with openings or slots 23.

Fig. 6 is a partial outside view of a casing provided with a closure member, both being made in accordance with a modified embodiment of the invention. Fig. 7 is a sectional view along line VII-VII of Fig. 6. In the latter modification, slant surfaces 24 and 25 are formed respectively on the casing 1 and on the projection 13 of the closure member 14 (or on the projection of an adjacent casing), so as to form an opening 7 which widens out to the outside, thus making the insertion of a wire or the like more convenient.

It will be understood that the invention is not restricted to the example illustrated, inasmuch as many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. More particularly, the casing according to the invention may be applied to other clamping and disengaging mechanisms for wires, though it is specially 3 useful with mechanisms of the type described and illustrated.

I claim:

1. In a wire connector, the combination of a casing for the connecting mechanism and having an open side, at least one opening in said casing for inserting a wirelike element into said casing in a direction substantially parallel to said open side, a closure member for the open side of said casing, notches of dovetail shape in the free end faces of said casing adjacent to said closure member, projections of corresponding shape on said closure member for cooperating with said notches, the elasticity of at least one of the two complementary members of each cooperating set of dovetailed notch and projection being sufiicient to provide for a snap engagement thereof in response to the application of pressure on said complementary members in the direction normal to said open side of the casing, a cavity formed in a free end face of the casing adjacent the closure member and a projection provided on the latter for engaging said cavity and preventing removal of the closure member by movement of the latter parallel to the plane of said open side of the casing.

2. In a wire connector, the combination according to claim 1, in which the solid rear Wall of the casing, located opposite the open side thereof, is formed with dovetail shaped outer projections capable of being snapped into the notches of an adjacent casing identical with said first mentioned casing, so as to form a closure member for the latter, said rear wall being also formed with a projection for engaging the said cavity formed in the free end face of said adjacent casing.

3. In a wire connector, the combination of a casing for the connecting mechanism and having an open side, at least one opening in said casing for inserting a Wirelike element into said casing in a direction substantially parallel to said open side, a closure member for the open side of said casing, notches of dovetail shape in the free end faces of said casing adjacent to said closure member, each opening for inserting a wirelike element forming a narrowed extension of one of said notches, at the bottom thereof, projections of corresponding shape on said closure member for cooperating with said notches, the elasticity of at least one of the two complementary members of each cooperating set of dovetailed notch and projection being sufficient to provide for a snap engagement thereof in response to the application of pressure on said complementary members in the direction normal to said open side of the casing, a cavity formed in a free end face of the casing adjacent the closure member and a projection provided on the latter for engaging said cavity and preventing removal of the closure member by movement of the latter parallel to the plane of said open side of the casing.

4. In a wire connector, the combination of a casing for the connecting mechanism and having an open side, at least one opening in said casing for inserting a wirelike element into said casing in a direction substantially parallel to said open side, a closure member for the open side of said casing, notches of dovetail shape in the free end faces of said casing adjacent to said closure member, pro jection of corresponding shape on said closure member for cooperating with said notches, the elasticity of at least one of the two complementary members of each cooperating set of dovetailed notch and projection being sufficient to provide for a snap engagement thereof in response to the application of pressure on said complementary members in the direction normal to said open side of the casing, each opening for inserting a wirelike element forming a narrowed extension of one of said notches, at the bottom thereof, a shoulder provided on each dovetailed projection of the closure member for protruding into the corresponding opening, the said shoulder and the opposite wall of said opening having inclined surfaces converging towards the inside of the casing, a cavity formed in a free end face of the casing adjacent the closure member and a projection provided on the latter for engaging said cavity and preventing removal of the closure member by movement of the latter parallel to the plane of said open side of the casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

